Cast and Crew

Main Cast

Phil Keoghan

The Story

AMANI & MARCUS FUMBLE IN MALAWI In the warm heart of Africa, professional snowboarders Andy & Tommy, capitalizing on a mistake by siblings Justin & Jennifer, won their fourth leg of the race. Meanwhile, married couple Amani & Marcus came in last, but were spared elimination. WELCOME TO AFRICA Departing the Pit Stop in first place at 7:22am, married couple Amani & Marcus ripped open their clue instructing them to jet across the Indian Ocean, traveling more than 5,000 miles, to the continent of Africa. Once they landed in Lilongwe, Malawi, teams had to make their way to a nearby tobacco warehouse for their next clue. Taking the same flight to Malawi, the seven teams ran out of the airport in Lilongwe and jumped into taxis, instantly commenting on the new continent where they just landed. Jennifer said, "We’ve never been to Africa before, so there’s a lot to appreciate visually and we’re just gonna try to do our best to take it all in.” A smiling Andy commented, "This is Africa, so sick.” Tommy added, "I’ve never been to Africa.

There’s no snow in Africa.” Cathi chatted with her taxi driver, telling him, "We love your country already. It’s very spacious. We are farmers from the United States so we like that.” PUTTING UP BALE Arriving at Gate 7 of the tobacco warehouse, dating couple Jeremy & Sandy ripped open their clue to find a Roadblock. In it, one team member had to put on a workman’s uniform and steer massive bales of tobacco through the bustling mazelike warehouse using only a short handled dolly. Once they picked up and transported ten 200-pound bales to the drop off zone, the foreman would hand them their next clue. With Ernie and Justin following close behind, Jeremy put on a bright orange jumpsuit with matching black hat, ran onto the crowded warehouse floor and grabbed a handcart. After putting one of the 200-pound bales onto the handcart, Jeremy started to slowly wheel the massive bale around, unsure of where to drop it off as workers ran past him and into him carting their own bales. When Justin tried moving one of the bales onto his handcart, he exclaimed, "These bales are ridiculous!” After getting the hang of weaving around the maze of stacked bales and avoiding the lightning fast workers, Jeremy later said, "I was loving the Roadblock. There were guys distracting, yelling, everywhere.To experience what goes on here was incredible.” A SLOW START As Tommy and Laurence donned their orange jumpsuits and joined the craziness in the warehouse, grandparents Bill & Cathi and married couple Amani & Marcus sat stuck in traffic.

Noticing the long line of cars moving in a slow procession in front of them, Marcus learned from his driver that traffic was caused by an engagement celebration. Cathi explained, "We were all seated at the back of the plane. We’re really frustrated right now because our cab is stopped.” A worried Marcus added, "This is not good.” Once the traffic began to clear, Bill remarked, "We’re back on the road. It’s better than being on a plane.” When the two teams finally arrived at the tobacco warehouse, Bill & Cathi got a small lead when Amani & Marcus’ taxi driver took them to the wrong gate dropping the married couple into last place. BATTLING WITH BALES One by one, teams, still led by Jeremy in first place, began finishing the grueling task and heading to Memorial Tower for their next clue, leaving only Marcus and Bill to battle it out for last place. Having years of experience on the farm, Bill felt at home hauling the tobacco, later saying, "When it’s time to cut the hay, it’s time to cut the hay.” Meanwhile, Marcus struggled and labored with the heavy bales, later commenting, "I felt like a rookie all over again. You’re the grunt. You’re the low man on the totem pole.” As Bill kept his lead over Marcus, Cathi lamented, "We like Marcus and Amani. They’re good people, but every leg is survival.” After Bill finished delivering his tenth bale, he and Cathi left the warehouse as Marcus continued to weave through the busy and chaotic floor. When Marcus finally unloaded his last bale, a crowd of singing warehouse workers surrounded the former NFL player as he ran back to his waiting wife. Later talking about the chanting and shouting workers, Marcus said, "That moment just made me feel so good to have all those guys push me and encourage me to finish. To have that moment was very special for me.” A TOY STORY Arriving at Memorial Tower in first place, dating couple Jeremy & Sandy ripped open their clue to find a Detour asking them to choose All Sewn Up or Not Grown Up.

In All Sewn Up, teams had to make their way to the White Horse De-Signs tailor shop in the Old Market. After choosing a customer, teams would use a manual sewing machine to finish the unstitched seams of his suit jacket and pant legs. When the customer was satisfied with the fit, he would hand the teams their next clue. In Not Grown Up, teams traveled to the Lilongwe LEA School and worked with scrap materials to build two traditional toy trucks. When the head mistress felt the trucks were ready to roll, they would be test driven by the children, who would hand over the next clue. At the Lilongwe LEA School, Jeremy & Sandy were greeted by singing children who waved when the couple ran into the schoolyard. The couple grabbed empty milk cartons to form the body of the truck along with nails and bottle caps to form the wheels. Jeremy later said, "I have a six-year old son and going to the school really made me miss him like crazy. It was great to see those little kids.” With the arrival at Lilongwe LEA School of siblings Justin & Jennifer, professional snowboarders Andy & Tommy, and father and son adventurers Laurence & Zac, the four teams all sat on the red dirt ground cutting milk cartons and pounding nails into bottle caps, trying to construct a working toy truck.

Laurence joked to Sandy, "I would’ve thought you’d have gone to the sewing machines, my dear.” While being a nurse practitioner by trade meant Sandy sewed up bodies for a living, she readily admitted to Laurence that she couldn’t sew clothes. To build his truck, Justin called on his profession of being a doctor, later saying, "At the root of surgery all we do is break down and build things back up.” Schoolteacher Jennifer got a lesson out of the task, remarking, "I can’t wait to do this with my own classroom. We’re very fortunate to be able to go to the store and buy toys. It would give them a little appreciation.” After passing the test drive by the children, the teams at the school, still led by first place Jeremy & Sandy, opened their next clue instructing them to travel to the RK Furniture Shop, a roadside shop where the people of Malawi proudly sell their hand crafted wooden furniture.

ALL SEWN UP At the White Horse De-Signs tailor shop, Ernie & Cindy arrived much later than they anticipated because their taxi driver got lost. The engaged couple began sewing the suit pants and jackets at the same time as Bill & Cathi, who left the tobacco warehouse in sixth place. Both teams initially struggled with the antique manual sewing machines prompting Cindy to comment, "Gosh, these are rickety old fellas.” Cathi thought she got in the groove of feeding material through the machine until she and Bill realized they sewed an entire leg with no thread. By the time Ernie & Cindy and Bill & Cathi mastered their sewing machines, last place Amani & Marcus finally appeared at the tailor shop. Sitting down at a machine, Marcus said, "My grandma’s a great seamstress so I’m gonna rock this. Watch me granny. I’m about to go to work.” Figuring the machine out quickly, the married couple slowly and methodically sewed their suit together, but it wasn’t enough to pull them out of last place as Ernie & Cindy and Bill & Cathi finished their suits ahead of Amani & Marcus and headed to the furniture shop. SPECIAL DELIVERY Arriving at the RK Furniture Shop within seconds of each other, siblings Justin & Jennifer beat dating couple Jeremy & Sandy to the clue. Opening it, both teams learned they had to transport and carry two locally hand crafted beds to Kumbali Village. Established in an isolated forest reserve, this remote village was the next Pit Stop and where teams would find out they needed their beds for an overnight stay. After asking the shop owner to call for drivers, Justin & Jennifer lifted the two heavy beds into the flatbed of the truck, followed by Andy & Tommy who took the second truck available ahead of a frustrated Jeremy & Sandy, who were forced to wait for the next available truck. Cruising in the potentially stolen truck, Andy said, "That guy said, ‘ Take the green truck’. This could’ve been their truck but who knows?” STALLING OUT With all the remaining teams, except Amani & Marcus, in a tight pack loading beds into their delivery truck, the married couple showed up at RK Furniture in last place. A disappointed Marcus sighed, "It can’t end like this man.” After loading their beds onto the flatbed of the truck, the married couple jumped back into their taxi and told their driver to follow the truck to Kumbali Village. However, this plan didn’t last long because their taxi stalled and the driver couldn’t get the engine to turn over. Marcus helped push the taxi to the side of the road and then he and Amani squeezed into the flatbed of the truck carrying their beds. An incredulous Marcus said, "Who would have thought we’d travel all the way around the world and when it’s the most important leg of the race for us our cab breaks down.” COSTLY MISTAKE After riding into the desolate lands surrounding of Lilongwe, Justin & Jennifer approached Kumbali Village in first place, but their truck reached a point where it could no longer continue.

From this point, teams were forced to carry their own beds to the Pit Stop in the village. Hearing the drumbeats in the background, the siblings walked their beds down a dirt path with professional snowboarders Andy & Tommy coming up from behind in a close second place. The siblings maintained their lead all the way into the village and excitedly approached the mat where Phil stood standing with locals singing and dancing behind him. When Justin & Jennifer stepped onto the mat, the siblings danced to the music as Andy & Tommy set down their beds and came to the mat in second place. However, Justin & Jennifer’s celebration was short lived when Phil informed the siblings that they forgot to settle up with their truck driver and needed to do that before he could check them in. As the frustrated Justin & Jennifer ran off to fix their mistake, Andy & Tommy became the winners of the leg, their fourth in six tries. For this victory, the professional snowboarders won a trip for two from Travelocity to a private island in the British Virgin Islands. A thrilled Andy capped their day, saying, "Stoked to be in Africa.” BRINGING THEIR BEDS With teams in a tight pack unloading and carrying their beds, the strength and skill needed to bring the heavy beds to the Pit Stop had a big impact in how teams finished the leg. While Sandy and Cindy both struggled to balance the bed in a way that allowed them to carry it easily, Cathi, who credited her years of farm experience, walked past the other racers with her bed firmly on her back but lamented, "I was so hoping for a day without bruises.” However, when Bill & Cathi stepped on the mat just steps behind now second place Justin & Jennifer, the grandparents found out they made the same mistake as Justin & Jennifer and had to run back to their truck driver to pay him. A LONG DAY ENDS With Jeremy & Sandy finishing in third place, Laurence & Zac in fourth place, and Ernie & Cindy in fifth place, Bill & Cathi started running back to their truck. Along the way, the grandparents passed by Amani & Marcus who had just begun the long, slow walk with their beds towards the Pit Stop, giving them hope they could now beat a team. However, the fit grandparents returned to their driver quickly and then jogged as fast as they could, eventually overtaking a tired Amani & Marcus, who stood stopped on the dirt path to catch their breath. Reaching the mat, the grandparents grinned as they happily accepted their sixth place finish.

Stepping on the mat in last place after their long and difficult day, an emotional Amani & Marcus waited to hear their fate. Tearing up, Amani told Phil, "I don’t want it to be over.” When Phil told the grateful couple that this was a non-elimination leg, they both doubled over in shock before hugging each other in stunned disbelief. Still in tears, Amani said "We’ve got a daughter who’s got special needs and we don’t want her to quit. If we can just show them that mom and dad don’t quit…to show them what teamwork is, I think it’s a great example for not just our kids but a lot of kids.” 1906 ROUTE MARKERS Roadblock: A Roadblock is a task that only one team member has to perform. In this Roadblock, that person had to put on a workman’s uniform and steer massive bales of tobacco through the bustling mazelike warehouse using only a short handled dolly. Once they picked up and transported ten 200-pound bales to the drop off zone the foreman would hand them their next clue. Performed Roadblock: JEREMY, ERNIE, JUSTIN, BILL, MARCUS, LAURENCE, TOMMY Detour: A Detour is a choice between two tasks. In this Detour, teams had the choice of All Sewn Up or Not Grown Up. In All Sewn Up, teams had to make their way to the White Horse De-Signs tailor shop in the Old Market. After choosing a customer, teams would use a manual sewing machine to finish the unstitched seams of his suit jacket and pant legs. When the customer was satisfied with the fit, he would hand the teams their next clue.

In Not Grown Up, teams traveled to the Lilongwe LEA School and worked with scrap materials to build two traditional toy trucks. When the head mistress felt the trucks were ready to roll, they would be test driven by the children who would hand over the next clue. All Sewn Up: Amani/Marcus, Bill/Cathi, Ernie/Cindy Not Grown Up: Andy/Tommy, Justin/Jennifer, Laurence/Zac, Jeremy/Sandy Order of Finish: 1. Andy & Tommy 2. Justin & Jennifer 3. Jeremy & Sandy 4. Laurence & Zac 5. Ernie & Cindy 6. Bill & Cathi 7. Amani & Marcus ...